{"id":300790,"date":"2026-06-09T01:44:21","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T01:44:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/300790\/"},"modified":"2026-06-09T01:44:21","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T01:44:21","slug":"hispanic-southern-baptists-gather-at-first-orlando-for-fellowship-worship-renewed-calling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/300790\/","title":{"rendered":"Hispanic Southern Baptists gather at First Orlando for fellowship, worship, renewed calling"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a><\/p>\n

ORLANDO (BP) \u2013 Hispanic Southern Baptists gathered at First Orlando to celebrate what God is doing through their ministries and churches. The event drew approximately 1,200 people and began with food trucks and bounce houses outside before moving indoors for worship, seven baptisms, a call to salvation and a renewed commitment to ministry.<\/p>\n

Organized by the Hispanic Baptist Network under the theme \u201cUnited for His Glory,\u201d the celebration was intended to encourage and strengthen Hispanic Southern Baptists, said Vernig Suarez, president of the network.<\/p>\n

\"\"Gilberto Corredera, pastor of Prestonwood en Espa\u00f1ol, addresses attendees at Celebraci\u00f3n Hispana, hosted by Red Bautista Hispana, at First Baptist Church on June 7. The celebration took place ahead of the 2026 Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting on June 9-10 in Orlando, Florida.
Photo by Roy Burroughs<\/p>\n

Guillermo Corredera, pastor of Prestonwood Espa\u00f1ol in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, delivered a message on unity from Paul\u2019s letter to the Ephesians.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are three dimensions Christians need to look at if we are to be united,\u201d Corredera said. \u201cWe must look around, look within and look upward.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs brothers and sisters, as churches, as conventions and associations, we must be clearly united under the calling to share Christ. This is only achieved when we set aside our desire to be the protagonist and focus instead on being part of the team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Corredera said that true unity begins with a life nourished by Christ.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard to be part of a team that includes people you don\u2019t like if you aren\u2019t nourished by Christ,\u201d he said, calling believers to humility, gentleness, patience and love.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we walk as one, nourished by Christ, everything points to the glory of God.\u201d<\/p>\n

Following the sermon, Corredera extended a four-fold invitation, calling forward those who had not yet trusted Christ for salvation, those seeking reconciliation and forgiveness, those wanting to renew their commitment to ministry, and those sensing God\u2019s call but unsure of their next steps. Thirty people responded.<\/p>\n

During the gathering, the Hispanic Baptist Network and Dallas Baptist University honored Frank Moreno for more than 40 years of ministry in Baptist life.<\/p>\n

\"\"Gilberto Corredera, pastor of Prestonwood en Espa\u00f1ol, gives an altar call during Celebraci\u00f3n Hispana, hosted by Red Bautista Hispana, at First Baptist Church on June 7. The celebration took place ahead of the 2026 Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting on June 9-10 in Orlando, Florida. Photo by Roy Burroughs<\/p>\n

Emanuel Roque, southeast regional catalyst for the Florida Baptist Convention, highlighted Moreno\u2019s role in launching language church planting efforts throughout Florida. Moreno was also recognized for his investment in training and equipping future pastors and preachers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI receive this recognition with humility and gratitude,\u201d Moreno said. \u201cGlory be to God for revealing Himself throughout these decades of ministry. I am thankful for my wife, Magdalena, who led me to the Lord when I was 16 years old. She has been a faithful partner in the calling God placed on our lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

As is customary, Southern Baptist Convention leaders also brought greetings to those gathered.<\/p>\n

Jeff Iorg, president and CEO of the SBC Executive Committee, thanked Hispanic Southern Baptists for their ministry and recognized Bruno Molina, executive director of the Hispanic Baptist Network, for his role in drafting a resolution<\/a> titled \u201cOn Immigration, Human Dignity and the Rule of Law,\u201d which messengers to the 2026 SBC Annual Meeting will vote on this week.<\/p>\n

\"\"Bruno Molina, executive director of the National Hispanic Baptist Network, preaches to attendees at Celebraci\u00f3n Hispana, hosted by Red Bautista Hispana, at First Baptist Church on June 7. The celebration took place ahead of the 2026 Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting on June 9-10 in Orlando, Florida. Photo by Roy Burroughs<\/p>\n

The resolution calls for \u201csupport for lawful immigration enforcement carried out justly, humanely, and according to due process, including the removal of those whom the government duly prioritizes for deportation and accountability for criminal activity, human trafficking, and unlawful employment practices.\u201d It also calls for the rejection of \u201cnativism, racial or ethnic hostility, ethno-nationalism, discrimination, and all ideologies or rhetoric that deny the equal worth and dignity of any people group regardless of immigration status, while also affirming that Christian compassion and hospitality do not negate lawful order or excuse indifference to public justice and social peace.\u201d<\/p>\n

Iorg encouraged attendees to register as messengers and participate in the SBC Annual Meeting, where the resolution would be considered.<\/p>\n

He also expressed a desire to see greater Hispanic representation in Southern Baptist leadership.<\/p>\n

\u201cHelp us find qualified people to serve in these roles,\u201d Iorg said. \u201cLook beyond pastors. We need lawyers, human resource specialists, and others who can help lead our Convention.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"An attendee lifts her hands in worship at Celebraci\u00f3n Hispana, hosted by Red Bautista Hispana, at First Baptist Church on June 7. The celebration took place ahead of the 2026 Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting on June 9-10 in Orlando, Florida. Photo by Roy Burroughs\"\"Clara Molina, a member of the National Hispanic Baptist Network, speaker and author and wife of Bruno Molina speaks to attendees at the Celebraci\u00f3n Hispana, hosted by Red Bautista Hispana, at First Baptist Church on June 7. The celebration took place ahead of the 2026 Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting on June 9-10 in Orlando, Florida. Photo by Roy Burroughs\"\"Vernig Suarez, president of the Hispanic Baptist Network, encourages attendees at Celebraci\u00f3n Hispana, hosted by Red Bautista Hispana, at First Baptist Church on June 7. The celebration took place ahead of the 2026 Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting on June 9-10 in Orlando, Florida. Photo by Roy Burroughs\"\"Israel Martin, who directs language ministries at First Baptist Church of Orlando, speaks at Celebraci\u00f3n Hispana, hosted by Red Bautista Hispana, at First Baptist Church on June 7. The celebration took place ahead of the 2026 Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting on June 9-10 in Orlando, Florida. Photo by Roy Burroughs<\/a>About the AuthorKeila Diaz<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ORLANDO (BP) \u2013 Hispanic Southern Baptists gathered at First Orlando to celebrate what God is doing through their…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":300791,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[139,141,140],"class_list":["post-300790","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/300790","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=300790"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/300790\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/300791"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=300790"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=300790"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=300790"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}